Looper mechanism for sewing machines



R. R. HUGHES, JR. LOOPER MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16, 1920.

1,422,060. Patentfl July 4,1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET I.

R. R. HUGHES, J LOOPER MECHANISM FORYSEWING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILEDJUNE 16. 1920.

1,422,960, Pateilted July 4,1922.

6 SHEETSSHEET 2.

R. R. HUGHES, JR. LOOPER MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES. APFLICATIONFILED JUNE 1 6, 1920.

1,422,060, Patented 5111 4, 1922,

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W M m R. R. HUGHES, JR. LOOPER MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16, 1920.

Patented July 41, 1922.

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R.. R. HUGHES, In. LUOEER MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES,

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16. 1920. 1,422,060, Patented July 4, 1922 6SHEETS-YSYHEET 5.

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B. R. HUGHES, JR. LOOPER MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

. APPLICATION FiLED JUNE I6. 1920. filQQgQSQ Patented July 4, 1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

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ROBERT R. HUGHES,,JR., OF UTICA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 UNION SPECIALMACHINE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

LOOPER IVIECHAN ISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

Original application filed October 17, 1919, Serial No. 331,312. Divided16, 1920. Serial No. 389,328.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT E. HUoHns, Jr., a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Utica, in the county of Oneida, State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Looper Mechanismfor Sewing Machines, of which the following is a description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing and to the figures of referencemarked thereon.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in loopermechanisms for sewing machines, and more particularly to a sewingmachine wherein the looper moves in a line substantially parallel withthe line of feed as it moves into and out of the needle loop.

An object of the invention is to pro vide a looper mechanism of theabove char acter wherein the looper is moved into and out of the needleloop by a tram of links and levers positively moved by an eccentric.

member on ,a rotating shaft and wherein said links and levers are sodisposed as to cause an extended dwell in the movements of the looper,both at the front end of its stroke and at the rear end of its stroke,and during the time when said looper is given its normal needle avoidingmovement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sewing machine havinga looper moving in the line of feed and in the direction opposed to thefeed as it enters the needle loop and a looper moving transversely ofthe line of feed as it enters its needle loop, wherein the loopers areoperated from the same shaft and the devices for operating the loopersare so constructed as to give to the transverse looper the usualoscillating movements and the looper moving in the line of feed, anextended dwell both at the front end and rear end of its stroke.

A further object of the invention is'to provide a looper mechanismhaving the looper moving in a line of feed and in the direction of feedwhen entering the needle thread loop, and laterally for needle avoid ingmovement, which looper is provided with a notch for the retaining fingerwhich engages the looper thread and holds it away from the body of thelooper to insure the needle passing between the thread and body of thelooper;

These and other objects will in part be Specification of Letters Patent.

to the looper at each end the Patented July 4, 1922.

and this application filed June obvious and will in part be hereinaftermore fully disclosed.

In the drawings which show illustration one tion:

Figure l is a view showing in longitudi nal vertical section a portionof a sewing machine having my improved looper mechanism embodiedtherein;

Fig. 2 is a view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section of thesame; i

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through the standard showing thelooper operating mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section transverse of the work support at a pointin front of the loopers;

Fig. 5 is a detail in section showing the rock lever for giving theloopers in the line of feed a needle avoiding movement;

Fig. 6 is a detail showing the mechanism for oscillating the loopersdisposed in the line of feed;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view showing one of the loo ers moving in the line of feedin side elevation, and in section the work support, also showing aportion of one needle and the looper thread retainer;

Fig. 9 is a view showing the levers and links for giving a dwell to thelooper, said parts being separated to better show their construction;and

Fig. 1.0 is a diagrammatic view showing the looper operating mechanismin various positions and the manner of giving a dwell of its stroke.

The invention is directed broadly to a looper mechanism for sewingmachines wherein the looper is mounted so as to mo e back and forth in aline substantially parallel with the line of feed, and wherein thelooper moves in a direction opposed to the feed when entering the needlethread loop. The looper is a thread carrying looper and is given aneedle avoiding movement. A plurality of loopers are preferably used,but so far as the operating mechanism is conby way of embodiment of theinvencerned, it may be used in connection with a the needle 6 beneathcillated by means of an eccentric strap and two links, one of which ispivoted to swing about a fixed center and serves as a guiding means fordirecting the path of movement of th end of the eccentric strap and theother link connects the end of the eccentric strap 7 with the rock leverfor oscillating the same. These parts are so disposed that the rocklever is substantially at rest foran extended period when the looper isat the forward end of its stroke and is again substantially at rest foran extended period when the looper is at the rear end of its stroke. Themachine in which my invention is embodied also preferably includes atransverse looper, that is, one moving at right angles to the line offeed as it enters and leaves the needle thread loop of the needle withwhich it is associated. This looper is oscillated by suitableconnections with the main shaft, which means brings about the usualoscillations in the looper for causing it to enter and leave the needlethread loop. Both the transverse looper and the looper in the line offeed are moved laterally for their needle avoiding movements by onecommon means.

Referring more in detail to the drawings. I have shown my invention asembodied in a sewing machine consisting of a supporting bed 1 having astandard 2 carrying an overhanging arm 3. Extending outwardly from thestandard is a work sun iortiiw arm 4:. j 23 The material is fed on tothis work supportlng arm'lengthwise thereof by feed dogs a: At theforward end of the overhanging arm there is the usual head in whichreciprocates two laterally spaced needles 5 and 6. Between the twoneedles 5- and 6 there are two other needles 7 and 8 (see Fig. 2'). Cooncrating with the needle 5 beneath the work support is a looper the worksupport is a looper 10. Cooperating with the needles 7 and 8 beneath thework support is a single looper 11.. This looper 11 is mounted rigidlyon the forward end of the shaft 12 which ere. tends lengthwise of thework supporting arm, and into the standard 2. Said shaft 12 is movedcndwise by means of a lever 1.3

which is oscillated by an eccentric on the main shaft 1.5 through aneccentric strap 18; The lever 13 is connected by means of a link 1'? toa yoke 18 secured to the end of the shaft 12; The yoke 18 is oscillatedby means of an eccentric 14 on the main shaft and an eccentric strap 19(see Fig. Through these connections the shaft '12 is not only oscillatedbut is moved endwise. These parts ar of the usual construction and giveto the looper 11 both its oscillating movement which carries it into andout of the needle thread loops of the two needles 7 and 8. and

its lateral or needle avoiding movement. The loopers 9 and lQare carriedby a shaft 20 which is mounted so that the same may 9 and cooperatingwith oscillate and move endwise in bearings 21 and 22 carried by thework supporting arm. The shaft 20 is oscillated by a train of mechanismshown in detail in Figures 6; 7 and 9. A link 23 is pivoted to a pin 24carried by a looper carrier 25 carrying the looper 10. The other end ofthis link 23 is pivoted to a ball stud 26 carried by a rock lever 27.The V stud 26 is mounted on an arm 28 of said rock lever. An arm 29 ofsaid rock lever projects substantially at right angles to the arm 28.Mounted on the main shaft 15 is an ec- V centric 30. Cooperatingwiththis eccentric 30 is an eccentric strap 31. The eccentric strap 31 ispivotedintermediate its ends at 32 to a swinging link 33. This swinginglink is entirely free of the rock lever 27 but is mounted to swing aboutthe same center an axis. A. link 3% is pivoted at 35 to the arm 29 ofthe rock lever 27. This link S-i is also pivoted at 36 to the outer endof the eccentric strap 31. The particular movements given the looperthrough this train of mechanism will be explained in detail. in connection with the operation of the machine.

In Fig. 8 of the drawings, the work support is indicated at 37 Thelooper 1,0 is a thread carrying looper as are the other loopers in thismachine. This looper 10 as above noted, moves baokand forth in adirection substantially parallel with the line of feed when entering andleaving the needle thread loop. Mounted on the under surface of the worksupport and in advance of the needle hole 38 is a retainer '39. Thelooper as clearly shown in Fig. 8 is provided witha notch 40 in itsupper face. The purpose of thisretainer is to engage the looper threadloop when thelooper moves laterally and thus hold the looper threadstrands well away from the body of the looper so as to insure that theneedle will pass between the looper thread strand and the body of theloo.per.- The notch in the looper serves as a clearance for the retainerand permits the looper to be set well up close tothennder 7 surface ofthe throat plate thusavoiding the pulling off of an excessive amount ofthread and also insures that the looper thread will be properly broughtinto contact with the retainer. The looper is given a. dwell at theforward end of its stroke, as will be hereinafter more fully'describedand the notch has sufficient clearance to permit the looper to be movedlaterally and thelooper thread engaged by the retainer with out theretainerin any way interfering with 41. Said rock leveris provided withforked arms whichengage studs 42.42 carried by a block l3 held fromendwise movement on the shaft 20.'- On h end of the shaft 12 1 ,eeaoeothere is a collar 44: provided with a groove 45 which is adapted toengage a roller 46 on the rock lever 40. This groove lies in a plane atright angles to the axis of the shaft 12 and permits the shaft 12 tofreely oscillate without imparting any movements to the rock lever 40The endwise movements of the shaft 12 will, however, oscillate the rocklever lO and this will in turn, move the shaft 20 endwise. It will thusbe seen that the endwise movements of the shaft 12 serve as a commonmeans both for moving the looper 11 laterally for its needle avoidingmovement and also the loopers 9 and 10 laterally for their needleavoiding movements. The oscillations of the looper 11 are of the usualtype. Said looper moves forward into both needle loops, and is given alateral needel avoiding movement, and then is retracted. The feed inthis machine is lengthwise the arm of the machine, and on to the arm ofthe machine, and this feed, of course, will assist in the forming of thethread triangle in connection with the looper 11, so that the needles 7and 8 will. enter said thread triangle in the usual manner. The lateralmovements of the loopers 9 and 10 are also of the usual character. Theoscillations of the loopers 9 and 10, that is, their move ments into andout of their respective needle thread loops is of a novel character andwill be better understood by reference to the diagram in Fig. 10 of thedrawings. In this drawing, the different positions of the center of theeccentric 30 are indicated at the left of the figure by the smallletters a, b, 0, (Z, c, and 7. Corresponding movements of the pivotalcenters 32, 36, 35 and 26 are indicated by similar letters in thisfigure. It will be noted that an eccentric turning in the direction ofthe arrow in this figure, when moving from a to 5 will cause the looperto move forward into the needle loop and to move forward very rapidly.As the eccentric continues its movement from Z; to c, the loopercontinues its movement in the needle thread loopand to the end of itsstroke. When the eccentric is turning from c to (Z. the link 34 receivessubstantially no endwise movement. and as a result, the looper dwells,and this is apparent from the factthat the points 0 and (Z of thepivotal connection 26 of the link 23 are substantially one over theother. This dwell is' an extended dwell, and continues throughsubstantially an arc movement of sixty-four degrees, while the entireforward movement.

of the looper is caused by the are movement of the eccentric throughsubstantially one hundred and thirty-seven degrees. As the eccentriccontinues from (Z through c to f, the looper is quickly retracted, andas a matter of fact, is slightly more quickly retracted than it isadvanced. From 7 to a, the link 34 receives substantially no endwisemovement, and therefore the looper is again at an extended dwell, whilethe eccentric is passing through the arc of forty degrees. It will beunderstood of course, that the specific number of degrees indicated onthis figure of the drawings may be varied without departing from thespirit of the invention, which consists in the extremely quick movementof the looper forward into the needle loop followed by an extendeddwell, then the quick return of the looper, which in turn is followed byan extended dwell. lVhile the looper is at a dwell at the forward end ofits stroke, and at the rear end of its stroke, it is moved laterallythrough the endwise movements of the shaft 12. It will be apparenttherefor that from the continuously uniformly rotating main shaft, I amable by positively operated trains of mechanisms, consisting of linksand levers, to impart a uniform oscillation to one looper and anoscillation to another looper with an extended dwell at each end of itsstroke.

The specific machine in which my double looper mechanism is used, isshown and is described more in detail in my co-pending application,Serial Number 331,312, filed October 17 1919, of which the presentapplication is a division. While my improved looper mechanism isparticularly adapted for a machine of this type, it will be obvious ofcourse, that it may be used in connection with other types of sewingmachines, and either in a multiple needle machine or in a single needlemachine, but is of course particularly useful in connection with alooper which moves back and forth in a line parallel with the feed as itenters and leaves the needle thread loop and wherein said looper movesin a direction opposed to the feed as it enters the needle thread loop.

It is also obvious that minor changes in the details and theconstruction of the parts may be made without departing from the spiritof the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters-Patent, is

1. In a sewing machine, a looper, means for supporting said looperwhereby the same moves in a line substantially parallel with the line offeed and in a direction opposed to the feed as it enters the needlethread loop, means for moving the looper laterally, and means foroscillating said looper including an eccentric, a lever mounted on aswinging fulcrum and connected to said eccentric, and devices operatedby said lever and connected to said looper for giving said looper anextended dwell at each end of its stroke and during the lateral movementthereof.

2. In a sewing machine, a looper, means for supporting said looperwhereby the same moves in a line substantially parallel with the line offeed and in a direction opposed lever connected to the eccentric member,said connections being so disposed as to give to said looper an extendeddwell at each end of its stroke and during the lateral movement of thelooper.

3. In a sewing machine, a looper, means for supporting said looperwhereby the same moves in a line substantially parallel with the line offeed and in a direction opposed to the feed as it enters the needleloop, means for moving the looper laterally, and means for oscillatingsaid looper including an eccentric, an eccentric strap cooperating therewith, a link pivoted to said eccentric strap between its ends andserving as a swinging fulcrum therefor, a rock lever connected to saidlooper, and a link connecting the rock lever to the end of saideccentric strap, said rock lever being so disposed as to give saidlooper an extended dwell at each end of its stroke and during thelateral movement thereof.

4. In a sewing machine, a looper, means for supporting said looperwhereby the same moves in aline substantially parallel with the line offeed and in a direction opposed to the feed as it enters the needleloop, means for moving the looper laterally, and means 'for oscillatingsaid looper including an eccentric, an eccentric strap cooperatingtherewith, a rock lever having one arm substantially parallel with theeccentricstrap and the other arm'at right angles thereto, alink pivotedto said eccentric strap between its ends and serving as a swingingfulcrum therefor, a second link connecting the end of the eccentricstrap with the end of the arm of the rock lever which is parallel thereto, and a link connecting the other end of the rock lever with saidlooper.

5. In a sewing machine, a looper, means for supporting said looperwhereby the same ends and serving as a swinging fulcrum therefor, asecond link connecting the end of the eccentric strap with the end ofthe arm of the rock lever which is parallel thereto, and a linkconnecting the other end of the rock lever with said looper, the pivotalconnection of'the swinging link fulcrum being in line with the axis ofthe rock lever, i

6.: In a sewing machine, a work supporting arm, a shaft extendinglengthwise there of, a looper mounted on said shaft and lying in a planesubstantially at right angles to the shaft, means for oscillating theshaft and for moving the shaft endwise, a second looper lying in a planeparallel with the axis of the shaft and substantiallyparallel with theline of feed of the machine, means operated by the endwise movement ofthe shaft for'moving said second looper laterally, andmeans foroscillating said second looper and giving a dwell thereto at each end ofits stroke substantially during its lateral movement. 7

7. In a sewing machine, a work supporting arm, along which the materialis fed during the stitching operation, a shaft extending-lengthwise ofsaid arm, a pair of needles, a looper carried by said shaft and locatedin a plane at right angles to the shaft and adapted to enter the needlethread loops of both needles, means for oscillating the shaft, and meansfor moving it endwise to give a lateral movement to the looper,

spaced needles at opposite sides of said firstnamed needles, a loopercooperating with each of said spaced needles and moving in a directionparallel with the 'feed as they enter and leave their respective needlethread loops, a shaft carrying said looper, means for moving said shaftendwise from the endwise movements of the shaft extending lengthwise ofthe arm, and means for oscillating said last-named loopers and forgiving a dwell thereto at each end of their strokeduring substantiallythe lateral movement thereof;

8. A sewing machine including in combination a standard, a worksupporting arm projecting horizontally from said standard, a looper atthe outer end of said work supporting arm, means for supporting saidlooperwhereby the same moves in a line substantially parallel with theline of feed and in a direction opposed to the feed as it enters theneedle loop, means for moving the looper laterally, and means foroscillating said looper including an eccentric member located in saidstandard, alink extending lengthwise of the work supporting arm andconnected to said looper and extending into said standard, devicesinterposed be tween said eccentric member and said link for giving anextended dwell to the looper at the forward end of its stroke and duringthe lateral movement thereof.

9. In a sewing machine,a looper, means for supporting said looperwhereby the same moves in a line substantially parallel with the line offeed and in a direction opposed 1 ,azaoeo to the feed as it enters theneedle loop, means for moving the looper laterally while in the needleloop, said looper having a notch in its upper face, a stationaryretainer for engaging the looper thread to hold the same away from thebody of the looper, said notch being formed for giving a clearance spacefor the retainer.

10. In a sewing machine, a work support, a stationary retainer securedto the work support and projecting downwardly therefrom, a needle, saidretainer being disposed in front of the needle, a looper, means forsupporting the looper whereby it is moved in a line substantiallyparallel with the line of feed as it enters the needle thread loop,means for oscillating the looper back and forth, means for oscillatingthe looper laterally for the needle avoiding movement, said looperhaving a notch formed therein giving a clearance for the retainerwhereby the looper may be set close to the under side of the throatplate.

11. In a sewing machine, a work support, a stationary retainer securedto the work support and projecting downwardly there from, a needle, saidretainer being disposed in front of the needle, a looper, means forsupporting the looper whereby it is moved in a line substantiallyparallel with the line of feed as it enters the needle thread loop,means for oscillating the looper back and forth, means for oscillatingthe looper laterally for the needle avoiding movement, said looperhaving a notch formed therein giving a clearance for the retainerwhereby the looper may be set close to the under side of the throatplate, said means for moving the looper back and forth including meansfor giving a dwell to the looper at the forward end of its stroke andsubstantially while it is moving laterally.

In testimony whereof, I allix my signature.

ROBERT E. HUGHES, JR.

